


Little Balls of Fur

by butterflyslinky



Category: Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: Animal Transformation, Fluff and Crack, Gen, Minor Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-15 16:48:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18503020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butterflyslinky/pseuds/butterflyslinky
Summary: There's a reason the Doctor doesn't want cocoa in his lab.





	Little Balls of Fur

The Doctor knew better than to leave his lab. He knew that the moment he left anything unattended, nonsense would arise, especially if he didn’t take Jo with him.

 

He remembered that fact within fifteen seconds of returning from his latest excursion when he found Jo sitting with Benton and Yates, all three of them drinking cocoa.

 

“Jo!” the Doctor snapped. “What have I told you about making cocoa in my lab?”

 

Jo pouted. “But Doctor, it’s cold outside and you weren’t here!”

 

“You don’t know what I’ve been doing with all of this!”

 

“Come on, we cleaned everything,” Yates said. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

 

“That’s not the point, Mike,” the Doctor said. “You don’t just go cooking in lab equipment, even if…”

 

The rest of his statement was cut off when Jo suddenly squeaked. There was a loud pop and a moment later, a tiny yellow rabbit was sitting on Jo’s chair.

 

The Doctor sighed. “Now look what you’ve done,” he snapped at Yates.

 

Benton and Yates were on their feet at once. “What’s that?” Benton asked. “Where’s Jo?”

 

“I believe this is Jo,” the Doctor said. “Seeing as she’s the smallest of you, the compound worked its way through her system faster.” He picked up the rabbit, which started scrabbling at his clothes at once, her tiny nose twitching in alarm.

 

Benton and Yates glanced at their own cups. “So…” Benton said. “That means…”

 

There was another pop and a second later, a rather lean brown cat was standing where Yates had been a second before. Benton stared in even more alarm. “Sir…”

 

“I’ll get to work on it,” the Doctor said. “I suggest you sit down before…”

 

There was a third pop and a rather adorable beagle puppy had taken Benton’s place. The cat--Yates--wandered over and started nuzzling the puppy at once. Benon made a distressed noise and looked up at the Doctor with wide eyes.

 

The Doctor sighed and glanced at Jo the rabbit. “I’d ask you to help, but you don’t have thumbs,” he said. He put Jo down and she hopped over to Benton and Yates. Yates started nuzzling her as well, purring and not obviously distressed at the situation. “Right. You three, stay out of the way, I’ll put you right.”

 

The Doctor picked up Jo’s cup and took it over to his equipment. He scraped as much residue out as he could and started to work on breaking it down.

 

“Doctor!” Alistair came striding into the lab mere minutes after the Doctor got started. “There’s an urgent matter...why do you have animals in here?”

 

The Doctor glanced back at where Benton was busy licking Jo’s fur while Yates wandered across the counters, occasionally pushing things off in a bid for attention. “Those, my dear Brigadier, would be my assistant and your officers.”

 

Alistair blinked. “Doctor, I don’t have time today for your practical jokes, this is serious. There’s a report that someone is trying to hijack a top-secret project and I suspect…”

 

“If it’s the Master trying to take over Earth, he’ll call me making a demand soon enough,” the Doctor said. “I think it’s rather more urgent that I get Jo and the others back to normal.”

 

Benton got up and trotted over to Alistair. He sat down at his feet and thumped his tail, giving the Brigadier the same wide eyes he’d used earlier. Alistair stared for a moment before he sat down in one of the abandoned chairs. “I don’t know what is happening,” he muttered. He picked up Benton’s cup and poured out the last of the cocoa into it before knocking the whole thing back at once.

 

“Alistair--!”

 

The Doctor flinched as there was another pop and a Scottish terrier replaced Alistair. He let out an alarmed little woof before turning to glare at the Doctor, as much as an old dog could glare anyway.

 

“I did try to warn you,” the Doctor said. “Join the others, I’m sure Benton is eager to play.”

 

Alistair kept glaring from the chair, managing to bristle his mustache in an almost threatening way.

 

“Oh...oh, I see.” The Doctor went over and picked Alistair up, setting him on the floor. Alistair glared another moment before letting out a sharp bark, which got Benton to sit up in as close to attention as a beagle puppy could manage and Yates to jump off the counter and join him.

 

“Well, at least your minds are all still there for now,” the Doctor said. “Jo, I’m going to bring you up here...the rest of you, don’t cause trouble. And Mike, stop knocking my equipment down.”

 

Yates flicked his tail and strolled off, giving the impression he was ignoring the Doctor entirely. Alistair growled slightly before barking sharply again.

 

“There’s no use trying to order anyone about, Brigadier,” the Doctor said. “Benton and Yates may listen to you, but no one else will.”

 

Alistair ignored him and walked to the door, keeping his tail and nose completely straight and still. Benton followed, a little more clumsily--for some reason, his paws were quite a lot larger in proportion to his body. Alistair sat down by the door and barked at the Doctor.

 

“And what are you planning to do?” the Doctor asked. “You’re currently approximately ten inches tall and covered in fur. You’d be better off staying in here until I’ve found a way to reverse this.”

 

Alistair growled again before he sat down at attention by the door. Benton glanced between Alistair and the Doctor before he turned and wandered back to the Doctor and flopped down on his feet. Yates, with no further orders, leaped back on the table and curled up next to Jo, who flopped over next to him.

 

The Doctor sighed. “Yes, thank you,” he said. “Sergeant Benton, if you would kindly get off my feet, I’ll get back to work.”

 

*

 

The Doctor got a blessed three hours of quiet to work. Alistair stayed stationary at the door throughout, but the other three were moving. Jo, after the first twenty minutes, grew bored and started snuffling about, sniffing everything in reach with her twitchy bunny nose. The Doctor had to keep pulling her back before she toppled off the table.

 

Yates also grew restless very quickly and went back to leaping around the shelves, though thankfully he had stopped pushing things off of them. He did, however, keep going over and nuzzling up to Alistair or winding around the Doctor’s legs, mewling, and it was a bit irritating.

 

Benton seemed content to nap, though in the second hour his paws started moving, running in his sleep with soft wuffing noises. Alistair kept casting him reproachful looks, as though to reprimand Benton for not acting as a proper soldier, only for Yates to start rubbing on Alistair again. Alistair growled at Yates as well, which made the cat give an affronted tail flick before he went over and curled up next to Benton, licking at his head until the puppy was sleeping peacefully.

 

If the Doctor wasn’t so irritated, he would call the entire scene adorable. As it was, he was far more preoccupied with fixing the situation.

 

Which was why, three hours in, he was extremely irritated when his phone rang. The Doctor sighed and put down his experiment as Jo helpfully hopped over to the phone before she remembered that she couldn’t speak. The Doctor shook his head and picked up the phone. “Yes?”

 

“Ah, Doctor...so glad I could get through to you. The Brigadier isn’t answering his phone.”

 

The Doctor bristled at the sound of the Master’s voice. “What do you want?”

 

“I did want to speak to the Brigadier. I have a rather delicate piece of equipment he’s going to want back and I was hoping to discuss terms.”

 

The Doctor glanced at Alistair, still sitting at perfect attention by the door. “Yes, well...I’m afraid the Brigadier is unavailable at the moment.” At that, Alistair’s ears pricked up and he turned and trotted over to sit at the Doctor’s feet.

 

“A pity...well, I’m sure I’ll get his attention when I’ve released this new, highly deadly virus into London. I estimate it will take perhaps four days for the entire population to be infected.”

 

The Doctor’s eyes widened. “Now, wait…!” He looked down at Alistair, who was growling at the phone. “I may be able to discuss terms,” the Doctor continued. “And I’ll be happy to pass them on to the Brigadier when he’s available.”

 

“And when will that be?”

 

“I...by my estimate, another few hours.” The Doctor hoped that was true, anyway.

 

“Very well...you have two hours before I come to negotiate.”

 

The line disconnected and the Doctor looked down at Alistair helplessly. “He’s not going to back down.”

 

Alistair started pacing. After a moment, Benton roused himself and sat up, whining. Alistair barked back and Benton thumped his tail.

 

The Doctor glanced at Jo. “You understand them?”

 

Jo looked at him blankly. The Doctor sighed. “Of course not,” he muttered. “From what I can gather, whatever was in that cocoa turned all of you into the animal you most closely resemble. And if I don’t reverse the effects within the day, your minds will become more and more animal like until this is permanent.”

 

Alistair barked again while Yates turned sharply in alarm and Benton whined more. “I know,” the Doctor said. “Though if I can’t reverse it in two hours, all of London will die.”

 

That did not help. Alistair gave a very sharp yip and dashed for the door again. Benton tried to follow and ended up falling over his own paws. Yates leaped down from his current perch and went to help Benton while Jo’s ears twitched in agitation. Alistair sat at the door and barked, not pausing for a moment.

 

“All right, all right,” the Doctor said. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He opened and door and Alistair dashed outside, followed by Benton and Yates. The Doctor turned back toward Jo. “Stay right where you are, Jo...I don’t want the Master to turn you into rabbit stew.”

 

Jo looked distressed, but she curled up into a tiny ball of fluff again. The Doctor went back to his experiments, muttering furiously, hoping he could beat the clock.

 

*

 

Alistair ran through the halls, barking up a storm. Several soldiers paused what they were doing, but no one seemed to be following.

 

Of course not. He was a bloody dog and the bloody Doctor hadn’t fixed it yet, and now the bloody Master was going to start destroying the world again. Alistair yipped at Benton and Yates, who at least seemed to be with the program, though Yates seemed rather too content with being a cat and Benton was still stumbling over too-big puppy paws.

 

They made it out of the headquarters and Alistair leaped up into his Jeep before realizing that, even if he did have opposable thumbs, he was far, far too small to drive the bloody thing. He growled at the ignition for a while, but that didn’t really seem to do much. He turned and contemplated leaping down, watching Benton and Yates who had stopped next to the Jeep.

 

Yates sat down and started licking his paws. Benton stared a moment before he started chasing his own tail. Alistair growled at them. Clearly the Doctor was right about their minds going.

 

Alistair looked down at the ground. It seemed so far away from this size, a lot scarier than normal anyway. The sun was warm, and the seat of the Jeep was comfortable... Alistair finally laid down, not wanting to jump the distance, and waited.

 

The sound of an approaching car jolted Alistair awake. He leaped to his feet and started barking at once, alerting Benton and Yates, who had fallen asleep in a little heap on the grass. Both jumped up immediately and went to attention.

 

The approaching car wasn’t Army issued. It was a very nondescript type of car, but what caught Alistair’s attention was the scent around it. It may have only been a few hours since his nose became sharper than his eyes, but he had spent most of those hours in the lab.

 

And there were only two people on Earth who should smell so much like Time Lord.

Alistair looked at the ground again. It was a long jump, but there was only so much he could allow, dog or not. He took a deep breath and jumped down.

 

The ground was a lot harder than he’d anticipated. Alistair yelped as he landed, but he got back up, ignoring the pain in his paws as he turned and started barking furiously just as the Master stepped out of the car.

 

Benton joined in almost at once, howling like he was being murdered. Yates fell into position as Alistair barked out a charge and started running as fast as his tiny legs could take him.

 

The Master looked down at the tiny barrage coming at him, his face more confused than actually frightened. Alistair didn’t pause before he started biting the Master’s ankles and snarling furiously.

 

The Master aimed a kick at Alistair and sent him flying back into one of the Jeeps. Alistair landed hard and couldn’t help but start whining. Benton yelped as well and dashed over, not tripping as much as he got to Alistair and started nosing at him. Yates, however, didn’t miss a beat and leaped at the Master, clawing at his face and chest furiously.

 

The commotion was at least enough to alert the other soldiers inside. Several came dashing out, weapons in hand, but that was all Alistair saw before he passed out.

 

*

 

“Jo! I think I’ve got it!” The Doctor turned around grinning, only to find Jo was still curled into a small ball on his desk. “Jo, wake up.”

 

Jo lifted her head and twitched her nose a bit. The Doctor chuckled and petted her soft ears for a moment. “I’ve got the formula ready,” he said. “It just needs a few minutes to cool.”

 

It was only then that he noticed the noise outside, a lot of shouting and a few gun shots. The Doctor looked up, alarmed, before he picked Jo up and put her in his pocket. She kicked him in protest. “Sorry, Jo, but I can’t leave you unsupervised.” The Doctor ran outside.

 

The Master was on the ground, a furious Yates still scratching at his face while several soldier stood around, guns out, all looking very confused. The Doctor spotted Benton standing protectively over the Brigadier, who seemed to be unconscious.

 

“Mike!” the Doctor said sharply. “That’s enough!”

 

Yates stopped yowling and leaped down, walking calmly over to the Doctor and rubbing on his legs, purring. The Doctor shook his head and leaned down to pet him for a moment. “Yes, I like you too.” He turned back to the Master. “Well, Master, it seems that you were interrupted.”

 

The Master picked himself up out of the dirt with as much dignity as he could. “I was coming to negotiate, as planned,” the Master said. “And then your pets attacked me.”

 

The Doctor glanced at Yates, then over at the two dogs. “I wouldn’t call them my pets,” the Doctor said. Jo poked her head out of his pocket, watching the Master fearfully.

 

“Where is the Brigadier?” the Master demanded.

 

“Ah, yes, well…” The Doctor shifted a bit. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll fetch him for you...I need to attend to them first.”

 

The Master huffed. “Very well, but I won’t wait any longer.”

 

The Doctor nodded and hurried over to Benton. Benton whined and moved aside. Alistair looked quite battered and barely whimpered when the Doctor carefully picked him up and held the tiny dog in his arms. “I’ve got you,” he whispered. “Come Mike...Sergeant.”

 

Benton and Yates trotted back inside after the Doctor. The Master glared at the UNIT men before he followed.

 

The Doctor hurried back into the lab and set Alistair down on a table. He very quickly checked the tiny form for injuries. His front leg was broken, but that was the worst of it. No doubt there would be bruises visible once he turned human. Alistair whimpered through the examination, giving the Doctor a very reproachful look.

 

“Just a moment,” the Doctor said. He picked up the vial of antidote he had made and dipped a small spoon into it. “Take this, Alistair.”

 

Alistair lapped at it a moment. The Doctor scratched his ears again before pulling Jo out of his pocket and feeding the formula to her as well, and then to Benton and Yates. The Master leaned in the doorway, watching in consternation.

 

“Doctor, I really don’t…”

 

“Tea?” the Doctor asked. “While you wait.”

 

The Master raised his eyebrows. “You’re offering me...tea?”

 

The Doctor smirked and picked up a cup. “Well, if you’d prefer to just sit around…”

 

The Master stared for another moment before he picked up the other cup and sipped at it. He had finished about half of it when there were four loud pops and the animals suddenly resumed their human forms.

 

Jo fell over almost at once, looking rather disoriented. “Doctor!” she cried. “What…?!”

 

“Relax, Jo,” the Doctor said. “It was just a minor transmogrification...something I’ve been working on, actually.” He got up and moved to the table, where Alistair was groaning in pain. “My dear Brigadier, are you all right?”

 

Alistair grit his teeth and sat up. Benton moved to his side at once to help. “Sir?”

 

“He kicked me!” Alistair gasped. “Into a car!”

 

The Master was staring. “You bit my ankle!”

 

“You came uninvited into UNIT threatening the country!”

 

“Brigadier, I suggest you go to the sickbay,” the Doctor said. “That arm will need to be looked at.”

 

“Just a minute!” The Master pulled a vial from his coat. “I came to talk terms, and I don’t intend to leave until you’ve agreed!”

 

Alistair looked at him. “Is that the virus?”

 

“It is. And I will release it into London!”

 

“No, you won’t,” the Doctor said.

 

“I most certainly will, Doctor, if you don’t--!”

 

There was a pop. The Doctor dove for the vial and caught it just before it broke as a very sleek black cat appeared right where the Master had been standing.

 

“No, you won’t,” the Doctor repeated. “Never accept tea from your enemies, Master…now, where should we take you?”

 

“I say we leave him just like this,” Yates said. “You did say it becomes permanent after a while, didn’t you?”

 

“Not for Time Lords,” the Doctor said. “He’ll be able to change himself back eventually...and we want him far away when he does.” 

 

“I suggest a holding cell,” Alistair said. “At least until we can move him to something more permanent.”

 

“Agreed.” The Doctor scooped the Master up and headed down to find a suitable room, the others trailing behind him. The Master hissed and squirmed, struggling against the Doctor’s hold. He managed to get a good scratch on the Doctor’s arm. The Doctor yelped and dropped the Master, who instantly streaked out the door. Alistair reached for his gun, but the Doctor stopped him.

 

“Doctor, he’s…!”

 

“Getting away. But he’ll be a cat for a while, and he doesn’t have the virus...don’t strain yourself.”

 

Alistair sighed. “Captain! Tell the men to catch the cat!” With that, he turned and stormed off to the sickbay while Benton and Yates gave chase.

 

The Doctor shook his head. “Well, Jo, how do you feel?”

 

“Fine,” Jo said. “Big...why did I turn into a rabbit?”

 

“I suspect it’s just what you are deep down,” the Doctor said. “Come on...back to work. And no more cocoa! I need a lab assistant who can hop off the table without injury.”

 

Jo smiled impishly. “Yes, Doctor.”

**Author's Note:**

> Now with bonus art by Lady Sci-Fi! http://lady-sci-fi.tumblr.com/post/184346644964/furballs-unit-scottish-terrier-brigadier


End file.
